SUPPLEMENTS THAT CAN AID DETOXING

Importance of Water

One of the most important things in a cleansing process is that you ensure that the body’s liquid levels are sufficient to allow cleansing to take place. To address this, you should ideally drink 3-6 pints of purified, filtered or glass-bottled natural water, spread out evenly through the day.

This will make sure that the cleanse itself will not put excess demands on an overburdened digestive system. In addition you should reduce your intake of wheat, dairy and salt-containing products, as well as reducing tea, coffee and soft drinks to a minimum.

Probiotics

The gastro-intestinal tract of a normal, healthy individual plays host to a varied population of micro-organisms. In an adult, the total weight of bacteria will amount to around one kilo, and be measured in trillions of bacteria.

In healthy individuals, this microbial population is delicately balanced, and only when the balance is maintained does the gastro intestinal (GI) tract fulfil its potential of digestion and absorption properly. The quality of the body’s intestinal flora is determined by the balance between the various microbial species.

The two predominant groups are the beneficial bacteria, found naturally in the GI tract, and the putrefactive bacteria. Factors such as those below may lead people to increase their intake of friendly bacteria to ensure an optimal balance:

• Changes in the normal dietary intake;
• Travelling abroad and therefore experiencing dietary and water changes;
• People who are taking, or who have taken, antibiotics; and
• Ageing.

Aloe vera has a wide range of pharmacological activity. Aloe vera contains soothing aloin anthroquinines, containing cleansing saponins (soapy substances) and antioxidants which act to cleanse and protect the bowel. Aloe also has anti-inflammatory, antiseptic, and wound repairing properties.

Psyllium husks/Flaxseeds

Psyllium consists of largely insoluble fibre which adds bulk to stools, aids motility of the gut and lifts impacted matter from the bowel wall. Dry Flaxseeds exhibit similar properties as the lignans help to bind and export toxins. Psyllium should be used with care where the bowel tends to constipation.

Bentonite Clay

Clay has a long history of use in the healing and detoxification. Indigenous cultures have used clay for health since before records began.  Bentonite clay is a colloidal hydrated silicate clay formed from the weathering of volcanic ash. One way it works is by  adhering to toxins in the GI tract and will carry them out of the body. Clay works best in small doses.

Milk Thistle

Silymarin, the active constituent of milk thistle, protects liver cells from toxins. It wipes up free radicals and increases antioxidant enzyme glutathione. Helps to regenerate liver cells.

Magnesium

Correcting any magnesium deficiency through supplementation is absolutely vital. Magnesium helps effective working of the sodium/potassium pump in the cells and the kidneys. This also acts as a powerful detoxifier which can cause problems if the released toxins are not eliminated efficiently.

Sulphur Amino acids

Glutathione is composed of the amino acids cysteine, glutamine and glycine, and is concentrated in the liver, although it carries out its work throughout the body at cell level. Glutathione is an antioxidant enzyme with a central role in protecting the body’s cells from free radical damage. This important enzyme is involved in protecting cells from environmental toxins, drugs and alcohol as well as toxins produced by the body itself as a result of normal metabolism. Methionine is also a sulphur containing amino acid that is important for detoxification. Cysteine can be synthesized in the body from methionine, so the presence of methionine will support glutathione production. Sulphur amino acids like cysteine are also  so chelaters, and can bind to heavy metals to remove them from the body.